Something warmed inside him. He didn’t know the last time anyone surprised him with anything. Certainly no woman. Harper was special, she was...
In the dark.
Ethan ignored the fear that crept up and threatened to strangle him. It was time to face her, and once she presented him with whatever surprise she had, he’d have to get her somewhere private and tell her the truth.
There was no more time.
Ethan made his way to his elevator, rehearsing in his head exactly how he’d break this news to her. Her reaction would likely be instant anger, but he needed to make her see his side of things. He needed to make her understand he’d truly had no clue who she was when he first approached her. But he should’ve, damn it. His investigators should’ve had Harper’s name, age, address, hell, her favorite breakfast cereal in their research. But they’d given him nothing but the fact Robert had a daughter he rarely had dealings with.
A daughter Ethan was now engaged to and expecting a baby with.
Would she listen to him? Would she see the parallel between herself and his own mother and understand that he never wanted her to be hurt?
The elevator doors slid open, and Ethan was greeted by a bustling lobby. As he stepped out, he took in the well-dressed people he assumed belonged to a wedding party. The girls all wore pale pink dresses, and the men wore black pants and white button-down shirts. Ethan scanned a bit more until he spotted the beaming bride and groom near the fountain in the middle of the open lobby. The laughter and chatter were almost deafening to his ears.
His gaze traveled through the crowd as he made his way across the open lobby. The breeze from the ocean wafted in, but while the scent was typically a comforting one, given his love of the water and the beach, even that couldn’t calm his nerves today.
Ethan circled the fountain, and there she was. Harper had on a beautiful white sundress that grazed the floor; her hair was down and all wild and curly. The juxtaposition of calm and chaos had his heart beating wildly.
This wasn’t the first time she’d stolen his breath, but this might be the first time he couldn’t ignore that niggle of something more stirring inside him. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was falling for her. How the hell had he let this happen?
She was talking to a man whose back was to Ethan, so he made his way over. Harper laughed at something, but then glanced over the man’s shoulder and waved at Ethan.
The man turned around, and in that moment, Ethan’s world came to a crashing halt as Robert Anderson met his gaze.
Every noise, every person, every single thing happening around him ceased to exist.
Ethan’s past and his future had just collided in front of his face like a ticking bomb, and there was nothing he could do to dodge the explosion.
He was out of time.
Thirteen
Ethan clenched his fists at his sides as Robert Anderson had the audacity to not only hold his stare with all the confidence in the world, but to smile like the underhanded, devious bastard he was.
What an arrogant jerk.
“Ethan, come here. I want you to meet someone.”
Harper extended her hand, inviting him over, but Ethan couldn’t take his eyes off the devil himself. Robert’s evil grin never faltered. It was like the man didn’t have a care in the world, and he didn’t seem one bit surprised to see his stepson.
“Ethan, this is my dad, Robert,” Harper introduced them, oblivious to the tension. “Robert, this is Ethan. My fiancé.”
Robert’s bushy brows rose up. “Fiancé? Well, let me shake your hand.”
Oh, hell no. Ethan shifted out of reach and wrapped a protective arm around Harper’s waist. He wasn’t about to touch that bastard and play nice.
“I had no idea Harper was dating,” Robert stated, dropping his hand.
Clearly stepdaddy was going to pretend like he didn’t know Ethan. Fine by him...for now. Harper still deserved the truth, but since they were standing in a lobby full of people—including a wedding party snapping candid photos—this was neither the time nor the place.
“We’ve been seeing each other for a while,” Ethan stated, daring Robert to say something crude toward Harper.
Ethan might have lied by omission to her, but there was no way he’d let anyone treat her with anything less than respect.
Damn it. He should’ve told her the truth before now. He had no clue how everything had spiraled out of control, but now that it had, there was no option for him other than to face the fallout.
He didn’t deserve her forgiveness, but he would be asking for it later anyway. He’d never begged for a damn thing in his life, but Harper was the exception to all of his usual rules.